Michael van Gerwen won't give Gian van Veen advice: ''Why should I?!''

Gian van Veen is considered one of the hottest prospects within the sport of darts. A status that the Dutchman has earned himself with outstanding performances on the Pro Tour in his first year as a Tour Card holder.

The dart player from Poederoijen reached two finals on the Pro Tour, although he lost both to world number one Gerwyn Price. He also qualified for the European Darts Championship, the Grand Slam of Darts, Players Championship Finals and the World Darts Championship.

Van Veen also competes on the Development Tour, the youth circuit of the PDC. There he is number one on the rankings, and Van Veen will play Luke Littler in the final of the PDC World Youth Championship at the end of November.

This kind of performance makes expectations high, but fellow dart player Michael van Gerwen is trying to temper expectations a bit. "Gian can throw fantastically well, but let that boy mature a bit first," the current world number two said to NOS.

"If you push a guy like that too much, it might disappoint," Van Gerwen knows from his own experience. "It's not about playing nice for six months, but 15 years. Darts is not a sprint, it's a marathon."

With that last comment, Van Veen couldn't agree more. "Of course it is nice to be called the new Van Gerwen, but there is only one Michael. I'm not going to put unnecessary pressure on myself. The most important thing is that I have both feet on the ground and stay with myself. I'm enjoying it now that things are going so well, but I also have a little voice in my head that says you never know how long it will stay like this.''

Van Gerwen and Van Veen both belong to the TOTO Dart Kings, a Dutch professional darts team consisting of six players. Nevertheless, Van Veen does not have to count on tips from the three-time world champion. ''Why should I!" grins Van Gerwen. "Do you think skaters give each other tips on how to win from each other? Of course not!"